One of Lakers’ fans frustrations with Darvin Ham last season was how much he leaned into Taurean Prince (the Lakers were getting outscored by 2.7 points per 100 possessions when Prince was on the floor, but Ham stuck with him as a starter for 49 games and played him bigger minutes). Ham is now out and headed back to Milwaukee as an assistant on Doc Rivers’ staff.
Prince is coming with him — the veteran forward has agreed to a contract with the Bucks, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Prince averaged 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 39.6 percent from 3-point land in 78 games for the Lakers last season. He’s now expected to play a strong role in the Bucks frontcourt. https://t.co/VsEoPP3cfB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2024
Milwaukee had a quiet offseason up to this point but reached a couple of deals in the last 24 hours, the other with veteran wing Delon Wright, who spent last season in Miami.
Free agent guard Delon Wright has agreed on a one-year, $3.3 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/vw2HsAb6NT
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024
Both of these are veteran minimum deals, because that’s what Milwaukee can offer.
While Lakers fans are laughing about Prince, this is actually a great signing for the Bucks — at the minimum and in a 20ish minutes a night role off the bench, Prince is a fantastic pickup. He averaged 8.9 points a game last season for the Lakers and shot 39.6% from 3 (one of the reasons Ham stuck with him, Los Angeles needed the floor spacing).
Wright is the same thing. He is a solid rotational combo guard who shot 36.8% from 3 last season and is a quality defender known for his ability to deflect passes. Where Wright fits in the rotation remains to be seen, but he could see clutch minutes in games against elite guards from other teams — him on the ball with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez protecting the paint could work well.
Milwaukee hasn’t been making big splashes, but the bet is that year two of the Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard partnership—with just one experienced coach from the start and (hopefully) good health—can vault them back into the upper echelon of the East. To be there, solid role players are required, and the combo of Prince and Wright can be that.
